Liefmans Kriekbier

Draft, from one of the kegs before the Moortgat version is out. Red-maroon color with pink-tinted head. Sweet candy-cherry nose. Tastes even sweeter, like candy maraschino. Slight lemony tang. Too cloying. I’m wondering if this might actually improve under Duvel.

Sampled on draft at Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore. A very dark, cloudy, burgundy-purple color with a deep ruby tint. A creamy, off-white head with long-lasting retention. The aroma had a strong cherry and malty smell, very fruity, with some earthy hops in the background. A very big cherry flavor with an almost too-fruity, medicinesque quality. The texture was wet and watery, with lower carbonation and good smoothness. Not a bad beer, but a very intense cherry push, which is a bit much for someone who isn’t too crazy about cherries.

375ml Bottle: Sweet aroma. Smells of cherries, funk, and sour mix. Poured dark red with some brown in color and no head at all. Clear. A few large particles. Flavor is medium sweet and lightly sour. Tastes of cherries, funk, and sour mix. Like a cherry soda. Medium body. Average texture. Average carbonation. Sweet, slightly sour cherry finish. Very drinkable.

Corked bottle @ De Geuzen. Deep murky red colour, pinkish head. Aroma of cherries and some tartness. Taste is cherries, tart, some sweetness. Prickly mouthfeel. Nice balance between sweet and sour, very refreshing Kriek.

A hard pour scares up an almost three-finger thick, dirty, light tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is a dark, red plum color that shows a brilliantly clear, ruby hue when held up to the light. Aromas of cherries are noticeable as soon as I start to pour this brew; candied cherries in syrup, with a substantial fleshy cherry note and a touch of almond. The cherry aromatics are nice enough, but definitely well on the sweet side of things and they completely dominate the aroma.

Thankfully the flavor is not nearly as sweet as the aroma suggested. There is some sweetness here but it is nicely offset by a light tartness. The cherry flavors are also muted a bit compared to the aroma, so more of the other flavors are able to come out. Cherry flavors are still the most dominant flavor here with a nice fleshy cherry note, a touch of almond extract in the finish and a cherry-skin tannic character that adds some texture that lingers a bit on the tongue. The sourness while quite soft seems to have touches of acetic acid to it, though it mostly tastes of tartness from cherries. Light bodied enough to be quite quaffable, though the residual sugars definitely add some body.

This seems a bit fake in its über-cherry flavors in the aroma, though the flavor is a bit more under control. I like that this is not sickly sweet, it does have nice balance between sweet and tart, unfortunately it is not very complex, though it is quite drinkable.